Nigeria’s economy witnessing steady growth, Tinubu tells Deloitte

…Tasks firm on training for young Nigerians

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, informed Deloitte  Africa, that Nigeria’s economy remains on the upward trajectory,

This is just as Deloitte Africa commended the President for his financial and fiscal reforms in the country and was encouraged to pursue a stronger partnership that supports investments, youth training, and employment, according to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

President, who received a delegation from Deloitte Africa, led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ruwayda Redfearn, accompanied by Taiwo  Oyedele, Minister of Finance, and Zach Adedeji,  Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service, at the State House, said the reforms had steadily stabilised the economy over three years, with growling plaudits for positive development and growth indicators,

The President said his administration was following the “example of Deloitte’s greatness to change things from the foundation, building the necessary future for our people.

“Yes, reforms are difficult. It has not been a McDonald’s customer relationship but a harvester of good things, if implemented well, and that is what we are about.

 

He commended Deloitte for the”partnership in paying attention to what we are doing here”, adding that “as we have heard from the Honourable Minister of Finance about the fiscal, revenue and tax reforms that have taken place and are moving the nation forward.

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The President also noted that the reforms on revenue will continue to stimulate growth, adding that ” And the effect of the reform? Yes,  some issues are difficult to take the bitter medicine,  but it is working well. For the economy, Nigeria is making serious foundational progress,’’

The reforms, he said, “had stimulated the economy, strengthened the fiscal and revenue sectors, repositioned financial institutions, and prepared the country to be more globally relevant and competitive.

He therefore, charged Deloitte Africa to improve its impact on the Nigerian economy by training and recruiting the dynamic youth population.

“The family of Deloitte; you just reminded me of my cradle years in accountancy and where I cut my childhood accounting teeth in Chicago. Deloitte has a good training programme, and I believe you will continue to reflect that,’’ he stated.

Taiwo Oyedele, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, who spoke on the reforms and impact earlier, also urged the leadership of the accounting and business firm to focus on building capacity among the youth.

The CEO of Deloitte Africa, Ruwayda Redfearn,  said the global organisation is primarily focused on digital and business transformation, with over 500,000 employees worldwide working across various roles and locations, including over 6,000 in Africa.

She said the accountancy firm’s revenue was $74 billion in 2025.

“We are before you to say that we want to serve. We have a local team on the ground that is ready, as well as the global firm, to support you and support your administration as you lead the country,’’ she said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Africa, Yomi Olugbenro, assured the President of the firm’s support for the reforms.

“We do what we do because of the philosophy that our Africa CEOs talk about – making an impact that matters. Where we are at the moment, we believe that the ground has been solidly laid. There is a need to truly extract more value and deliver the dividends of democracy to ordinary Nigerians on the street. The bigger work is really about how to cascade some of those big reforms further down.

“We do believe that with the capabilities that the firm has all over the world, with the half a million people that our CEO spoke about, we have used cases, examples, experiences of how we supported nations all around the world, so Nigeria will definitely benefit from those experiences.

“So that is why we are here, and we welcome the invitation that you may grant us as to where exactly you want us to support you,’’ he added.